Are There Lessons from India about the Management of Cattle? A Review of 'Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics' by Kenneth R. Valpey.

Abstract

Simple SummaryCattle production has received significant criticism, particularly in Western countries, on account of its contribution to environmental pollution; the ethics of practices such as premature slaughter, particularly of male calves, and invasive procedures to control reproduction and dock tails and horns; and the poor welfare of cows in industrialised farming systems. However, in the country with the largest cattle population in the world, and one of the largest human populations, India, there is a culture of respect for cows, which has a long historical tradition. This culture is now growing to ensure that all cows are treated ethically. In his recent book, ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’, Kenneth Valpey describes the widespread advantages of such an approach, including a recognition that all beings are equal under a divine presence. The adoption of the Indian approach to cow care on a broader scale is considered, and it is recognised that whilst it generally provides for cow welfare and ethics better than Western farming systems, the adverse effects on the environment would be potentially magnified.Cows are divine beings in Indian culture, a philosophy that is an important part of the Hindu faith. Although shared with other non-human animals, the focus on cows is well established in historical literature and is currently growing with a pattern of cow vigilantism in the country to try to enforce ethical standards in cattle keeping systems. The Indian attitudes to cows are considered in a new book by Kenneth Valpey, ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’. The content is highly relevant today, at a time when cattle farming is the subject of widespread concern in the West as a result of their contribution to environmental pollution; wasteful use of resources; and ethically questionable practices, such as male calf slaughter, reproduction control, and poor cow welfare. The contrast with systems predominating in the West, where cattle are essentially commodities from which products are obtained, is considered in this review of Valpey’s book. The development of a cow care culture, in which only cow milk surplus to her calf’s requirements is used for human consumption and cows are allowed to live out their natural life, is advocated. Whilst such a philosophy could usefully improve cattle care on a broad scale, the logical conclusion of extending human style citizenship to cows is that either human consumption of cattle products must reduce or more resources must be devoted to cows at the expense of other animals, including humans. There is evidence of the former, with a substitution of chicken meat for beef on a broad scale, and the prospect of laboratory-grown meat in the near future. In a small number of countries, meat consumption is already declining. These changes, coupled with a greater attention to cattle welfare practices, could herald a more ethical commensal relationship between cattle and humans in the future.